Bill Essayli

Bilal Ali "Bill" Essayli (born November 24, 1985) is an American lawyer and politician who currently serves as the first assistant United States attorney for the Central District of California. He previously served as the interim United States attorney for the Central District of California from April to July 2025. A federal judge ruled that he had illegally served as the acting US Attorney. Essayli was disqualified from holding the position because he stayed on beyond the initial interim period without having received official congressional approval,

Essayli served as a member of the California State Assembly from 2022 until 2025. A Republican, he was the first Muslim elected to the state assembly, where he represented the 63rd district, which includes Canyon Lake, Corona, Eastvale, Lake Elsinore, Menifee, Norco, Riverside, Temescal Valley, and Woodcrest.

Early life and education Essayli's parents are immigrants from Lebanon who fled to the United States to escape the Lebanese Civil War.

Essayli received a bachelor's degree from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and a Juris Doctor degree from Chapman University.

Early career Essayli served as an intern in the White House Counsel's Office in 2008. He then worked in private practice, where he focused on employment law. Then he joined the Riverside County District Attorney's office as a prosecutor. He then became an Assistant United States Attorney for the Central District of California. Among the cases he worked on was the 2015 terrorist attack in San Bernardino.

California State Assembly In 2018, Essayli ran for the California State Assembly against incumbent Democrat Sabrina Cervantes and lost the election.

In 2022, Essayli ran for the state Assembly in the newly created 63rd Assembly District. He defeated Eastvale Mayor Clint Lorimore in the primary and businesswoman Fauzia Rizvi in the general election.

Acting and First Assistant United States Attorney In April 2025, United States Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Essayli as interim United States Attorney for the Central District of California. The district, headquartered in Los Angeles, encompasses seven counties and nearly 20 million residents, making it the largest federal judicial district.

His appointment prompted pushback from Democratic officials and progressive organizations, culminating in the launch of Stop Essayli, a grassroots effort opposing his confirmation on grounds of alleged political retaliation and civil rights concerns.

Essayli released Alexander Smirnov, a tax evader who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about Hunter Biden, from prison after being pressured to do so by Aakash Singh, an associate deputy attorney general in the second Donald Trump administration.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Essayli struggled to secure convictions at grand juries for charges he brought against protestors during the June 2025 Los Angeles protests. By July 23, federal prosecutors brought 38 felony cases against protestors but secured only seven indictments, with many being dismissed or reduced to misdemeanor charges. Three federal law enforcement officers reported to the Times that they overheard a speakerphone conversation in the vicinity of the grand jury room in which Essayli screamed at a prosecutor to ignore the Department of Justice's Justice Manual and instead to secure indictments as directed by Pam Bondi. The report said Essayli's low number of indictments raised concerns among legal experts over the strength of the cases he was filing.

On October 28, 2025, in a 64-page order, Senior Judge John Michael Seabright of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii ruled that Essayli's authority as an interim appointee had expired as of July 29, 2025. The judge determined that Essayli had been illegally serving in the acting role since July 2025, due to the lack of an official Senate confirmation, and clarified that Essayli may instead hold the title of "First Assistant United States Attorney" for the Central District of California.

On January 24, 2026, in response to the killing of Alex Pretti, Essayli posted on Twitter: "If you approach law enforcement with a gun, there is a high likelihood they will be legally justified in shooting you. Don't do it!" The gun-rights organizations National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America both criticized the comments. The National Rifle Association called these comments "dangerous and wrong" and called for a full investigation. Gun Owners of America responded by stating: "We condemn the untoward comments of U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli. Federal agents are not 'highly likely' to be 'legally justified' in 'shooting' concealed carry licensees who approach while lawfully carrying a firearm. The Second Amendment protects Americans' right to bear arms while protesting—a right the federal government must not infringe upon."

Personal life Essayli is the first Muslim to be elected to the California State Assembly. Regarding his religious beliefs, he has stated "My religion drives my moral compass, but it's not everything that I am. I'm an American that happens to be Muslim."

Electoral history 2018

2022

2024